Offsite & MMC

A House of Lords committee failed to find a reason for the recent offsite failures In 2019, Nick Walkley, then chief executive of Homes England, announced a £30m loan for modular builder Ilke Homes. At the time, he said: “There is huge, untapped potential to unleash by creating more capacity…

Suzanne Peters is a research associate at Alliance Manchester Business School Much ink has been spilled chronicling the UK’s shortage of suitable housing options, with even more spent considering the best ways in which it could be tackled. One option often in the spotlight is so-called modern methods of construction…

Northumberland-based offsite specialist Merit Holdings Ltd has reported strong turnover and pre-tax profit growth in its latest annual accounts. Revenue reached £94.3m for the year ending 30 June 2023, marking a 48 per cent year-on-year increase compared with the 2021/22 total of £63.7m. Turnover in 2020/21 was £41.8m. In his…

A National Housing Federation-backed alliance of housing associations and councils is looking for dozens of traditional-build main contractors to join a new modern methods of construction (MMC) framework. Building Better, which was set up to increase the use of MMC in social housing, is looking for SME builders to lead…

Laing O’Rourke is looking to cut 60 jobs at its offsite factory in a bid to reduce operating costs. The contractor, whose latest financial results saw it plunge to a £288.1m loss on £3.3bn of turnover, blamed delays to projects for the latest round of redundancies. A spokesperson for its…

A House of Lords committee has criticised the government for lacking a clear strategy on its investment in modern methods of construction (MMC). The Lords’ Built Environment Committee said in a report published this morning (26 January) that the government had “too easily accepted” that the way to encourage MMC…

Two modular housing bosses have written to a parliamentary inquiry into modern methods of construction (MMC) challenging “unfair representation” given by another witness. Directors from trade body Make UK Modular and housebuilder TopHat have submitted letters to the House of Lords’ built environment committee querying evidence that suggested MMC projects…

Which companies are likely to have the biggest impact on the industry in the year ahead? ISG In November, ISG felt moved to issue a statement denying “unsubstantiated, wholly inaccurate and false claims” about its financial health”. However, it did not elaborate on the nature of these claims. Last year…

New housing minister Lee Rowley has dismissed the collapse of several modular building companies as “not unexpected” and described the sector as a “work in progress”. The long-standing MP for North East Derbyshire, who has been in his current ministerial post less than a month, told MPs that boosting modern…

The National House Building Council (NHBC) has made losses on its modular housebuilding warranty scheme due to the number of firms in the sector going bust. Richard Smith, head of standards, innovation and research at the trade body, revealed the damage at the House of Lords built environment committee last…